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The 2013 London Bird Report is now out - to get a copy please click here. 'Sunday 6th December 2015 ' *Alexandra Park: Chiffchaff Heard Conservation Pond, c40 Common Gull (more than recently) Wood Green Res and playing fields (Bob Watts) *Blackwall Beach (Below O2 Arena): 48 Great Black-backed Gulls, c190 Herring Gulls, 4 Yellow-legged Gulls (1 2nd and 3 1st calendar years), 32 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 28 Common Gulls, 2 Meadow Pipits, 2 Grey Wagtails, 41 Linnets on nearby waste ground (Nick Senior) *Brent Reservoir: pair Wigeon, Cetti's Warbler calling by Heron Hide & 21 Snipe (Andrew Self) *East India Dock Basin NR: 6 Reed Bunting feeding together (Frank Nugent). *Hogsmill River Park: 1 Little Egret, 2900 Black-headed Gull (2850 E), 200 Herring Gull E, 650 Woodpigeon (500 E), 1 Fieldfare, 7 Redwing, 45 Magpie, 27 Goldfinch (Andrew Skotnicki) *Isle of Dogs: 1 Yellow-legged Gull (2nd calendar year), 20 Common Gulls - Saunders Ness (Nick Senior) *Pinner (HA5): Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Green Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail & 17 House Sparrow (Jon Ridge). *Richmond Park: Goosander, Kingfisher, Water Rail, 2 Stonechat (S Woolfenden) *Swanscombe Marshes: 5 Pheasant, 2 Marsh Harrier (m+f), 57 Lapwing, 6 Dunlin, 1 Curlew, 30 Redshank ©, 1 Green Sandpiper, 8 Turnstone, 4 Common Gull, 2 Great Black-backed Gull (on river), 2 Short-eared Owl, 1 Skylark, 1 Chiffchaff (pale bird briefly on fence of builders yard by Ingress Est.) (Peter Beckenham) *Ten Acre Wood area: 3m, 1f Pheasant, 2 Buzzard, 2 Sparrowhawk (1 male chasing Redwing), Kestrel, 36 Lapwing flew off, 15+ Snipe, 11 Stock Dove, 16 Skylark, 4 Meadow Pipit, thrushes mobile around site but minima of 100 Fieldfare + 50 Redwing, 3 Reed Bunting, Lesser Redpoll, 60 + Linnet (Neil Anderson/G. Westley) *Walthamstow Marshes: 1 f Stonechat near boardwalk in bomb crater field (Quentin Given) *Walthamstow Reservoirs: 51 'Little Egret into roost (Frank Nugent). *Wanstead Flats: Little Owl reported this morning (@wansteadwomble), Little Egret, 11 Gadwall. 11 Shoveler, 2 Teal, 2 Pochard, Little Grebe, 2 Fieldfare, 2 Kestrel, 6 + Goldcrest, Linnet, Grey WAgtail, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, no sign of Caspian Gull though the gulls were not settling today (Wanstead Birders) *Wanstead Park: 20 + Redpoll, 30 + Siskin, 40 + Goldfinch, 20 + Greenfinch, 6 Chaffinch all by the Roding, c. 200 Gadwall. 36 Shoveler, 8 Teal, 21 Wigeon, Waater Rail, Kingfisher, Sparrowhawk, Fieldfare, Redwing 10 + Song Thrush (Wanstead Birders) *Yeading Brook meadows: f Teal, Kestrel, Snipe, 2 Meadow Pipit, c30 Redwing, 7 Fieldfare over (Neil Anderson) '''Saturday 5th December 2015 ' *Alexandra Park: 3 Shoveler 10 Pochard Boating Lake, c50 Woodpigeon S or SW (Bob Watts) *Amwell: redhead '''Smew (Herts website) *Beddington Farmlands: 1st w Caspian Gull on main lake (Twitter) *Brent Reservoir: 5 Green Sandpiper & 27 Snipe (Brent Birders) *Brookmill Park: Mandarin, 2 Kingfisher (Conrad Ellam) *Cornmill Gardens: Cormorant diving in the Ravensbourne, 2 Grey Heron - one caught and consumed a rat (Tom Moulton) *Epping Forest: Connaught Water - Smew, Pintail (Twitter) *Fairlop Waters: Great Northern Diver (Twitter) *London Wetland Centre: 1 Goldcrest, 1f Goldeneye (res. lag.), 10+ Common Snipe, 1m Pintail (others seen), 1m1f Stonechat, 48 Wigeon (Martin Honey, B. Page) *Pinner (HA5): 2 Coal Tit & 20 House Sparrow on the feeders - the highest count for some time; Also: 9 Redwing over west (Jon Ridge). *Ruislip Lido/woods: 15 Shoveler, 18 Pochard, 30+ Little Egret, 2 Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, 26+ Redwing (Neil Anderson) *Staines Moor: 3-5 Kestrel, 1 common Buzzard, 10 Goldcrest, 8+ Stonechat, 2 Little Grebe, 2 Little Egret, 2 Grey Wagtail, 5 Heron, 2 Jay, 1 Green Woodpecker (2 strong flying dark butterflies were also noted, most likely Red Admiral) (Thomas Gibson) *Staines Reservoirs: Brent Goose (Twitter) *Stocker's Lake: 6 Goldeneye, m,5f (G Lapworth-Herts) *Totteridge Valley/Darlands Lake: c35 Redwing, 2 Siskin, Treecreeper, Mandarin, Teal (John Colmans) *Wanstead Flats: Ad Yellow-legged Gull and 1w Caspian Gull '''(re-identified from photographs) , 2 Great Black-backed Gull, 33 Gadwall,, 16 Shoveler, 7 Teal, 3 Pochard, Little Grebe, Meadow Pipit, Goldcrest (Nick Croft/Jono Lethbridge) *Wanstead Park: 20 + Redpoll, 2 Siskin, 10 + Goldcrest, 244 Gadwall, 28 Wigeon, 50 Shoveler, 30 + Tufted Duck, 8 Egyptian Goose, 6 Teal (Nick Croft/Bob Vaughan) 'Friday 4th December 2015 ' *Alexandra Park: Chiffchaff still Conservation Pond, also 150 Woodpigeon SW 50 NE 07:45-08:30 (Bob Watts) *Brent Reservoir: pair Wigeon, 18 Snipe, Water Rail, '''Short-eared Owl 11.35 flew NE mobbed by Crows and Gulls (Leo Batten, Roy Beddard, Pete Lowman). *Bow Creek Ecology Park: 62 Teal, 53 Redshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Goldcrests (Nick Senior). *Brimsdown/Enfield Lock: 2 Peregrine, Cetti's Warbler singing (James Palmer). *Brookmill Park: Mandarin, Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush, Goldcrest (Conrad Ellam). *Bushy Park: 9 Goldcrest, 2 Nuthatch, 4 Stonechat, 3 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 6 Redwing (Mark Wardman). *East India Dock Basin: 7 Shelduck, 77 Teal, 1 ad Yellow-legged Gull over the river, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Chiffchaff, 4 Goldcrests, 1 Siskin, 3 Reed Buntings (Nick Senior). *Fairlop Waters: Great Northern Diver (BirdGuides). *Gunpowder Park: 12 Siskin and 2 Lesser Redpoll with a larger number of Goldfinch (James Palmer). *Hampton Court Park: 115 Canada Goose, 17 Egyptian Goose, 18 Gadwall, 10 Wigeon, 51 Tufted Duck, 1 Pheasant, 68 Cormorant, 212 Coot, 7300 Black-headed Gull E (vast majority between 07:15 and 07:40), 127 Common Gull, c.350 Herring Gull E, 17 Lesser Black-backed Gull (11 E), 6 Great Black-backed Gull (3E), 1 Little Owl, 1900 Woodpigeon (1800 E including flock of 1600 at 08:00), 55 Redwing (45 SW), 13 Fieldfare (9 W-SW), 1 Siskin E (Andrew Skotnicki). *KGV Reservoir: 1 Slavonian Grebe, 1 redhead Smew (A.Middleton). *Lamorbey Park, Sidcup. 7 Long-tailed tits, 2 Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Nuthatch, 37 Canada Geese. In nearby Willersley Avenue five House Sparrows dashed across rapidly pursued by low-flying Sparrowhawk which lunged - and missed.(Eric Brown). *Leatherhead, River Mole: 1 Little Egret, 1 Water Rail, 2 Kingfisher, 1 female Kestrel, 4 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Nuthatch, 2 Pheasant, 3 Ring-necked Parakeet, 7 Redwing (Neil Batten). *Middlesex Filter Beds: Cetti's Warbler singing at 1115 plus Reed Bunting, Kestrel (Alastair Dent). *Pinner: Red Kite being mobbed by Herring Gull just over the house 12:30. To think that once even the gull would have been remarkable (Richard Francis). *Pinner (HA5): 4 Redwing & Coal Tit (Jon Ridge). *Richmond Park: Goosander red-head Upper Pen Pond south end (M.Lewis per JW) Dartford Warbler, Little Grebe, 2 Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, 7 Stonechat and 15+ Goldcrest around Pen Ponds, 15 Redwing NW (J.Wilczur, S.Woolfenden, S.Read, The Friday Group). *Sewardstone Marsh: 4 Goosander (2 m + 2f), Sparrowhawk (James Palmer). *Staines Moor: 2+ Water Pipit, 1+ Woodcock, 1 Treecreeper, 6 Stonechat, 4 Red Kite, 1+ Tawny Owl, 1 Barn Owl, 1 Lapwing, 3 Common Snipe, 2+ Little Grebe, 1 Little Egret, 3 Goldcrest, 1 Reed Bunting, 1+ Grey Wagtail, 1 Common Buzzard (Lee Dingain). *Thames Chase Forest Centre: 1 Buzzard, 7 Siskin, 1 Redpoll (Ben Green) *Tottenham Marsh: Peregrine (James Palmer). *Trent Park: 2 Firecrest together (both probably males) feeding in holly by bridle-path between Williams Wood and Shaws Wood, 12:50 - 12:54 hrs, 2 Woodcock flushed together (Robert Callf). *Wanstead Flats: 12 Redwing (Earlham Grove), 21 Fieldfare, Linnet, 7 Redpoll, Sparrowhawk, Great Black-backed Gull, medium sized grey goose flying south, Meadow Pipit (Nick Croft). *Wanstead Park: Water Rail sharming, 34 Wigeon, 57 Shoveler, 289 Gadwall, 20+ Tufted Duck, 2 Teal, 2-3 Great Crested Grebe, 5 Redpoll, 5 Siskin, what sounded like a Yellowhammer over Bush Wood, 2-3 Nuthatch, Coal Tit, 10+ Goldcrest, Sparrowhawk (Nick Croft). Thursday 3rd December 2015 ''' *Alexandra Park: Chiffchaff heard Conservation Pond 0800 (Bob Watts) *Lindal Cres., EN2: Red Kite adult low over 12:12 - 12:15, whilst I was delivering leaflets (Robert Callf) *Rainham Marshes: 2 '''Raven, Dartford Warbler (Twitter) *Richmond Park: Peregrine over Pen Ponds flew off E (R.Herbert per JW) 200+ Common Gull Upper Pen Pond (M.Lewis per JW) *Staines Moor: Rough-legged Buzzard (BirdGuides) *Sutcliffe Park: Little Grebe, Little Egret, 6 Tufted Duck, Common Snipe, 2 Stock Dove, 2 Chiffchaff (Conrad Ellam) *Trent Park: Firecrest feeding in holly E edge Shaws Wood 14:35 (Robert Callf) *Walthamstow Reservoirs: Male Scaup still on No 4 in flock of Tufties and Pochards (Quentin Given). *Wanstead Flats: 15 Linnet, Redpoll, 2 Reed Bunting, poss Yellowhammer, 7 Pochard, 7 Shoveler, 25 Gadwall, 10 Teal, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, 14 Fieldfare, 2 Meadow Pipit, 5 Goldcrest (Nick Croft/Bob Vaughan) *Wanstead Park: Great Crested Grebe, 45 Shoveler, 243 Gadwall, 30 + Tufted Duck, 15 Wigeon, 7 Teal, 5 Egyptian Goose, 2 Kingfisher, 5 + Siskin, 4 Redpoll, several Redwing, 15 + Goldcrest (Nick Croft/Bob Vaughan) Wednesday 2nd December 2015 ''' *Alexandra Park: Kingfisher, 2 Egyptian Goose Wood Green Res, 7 Shoveler Boating Lake (Bob Watts) *Brent Reservoir: 2 Egyptian Goose, Little Egret, 5+ Water Rail, 18 Snipe, Green Sandpiper, Chiffchaff (Roy Beddard) *Brookmill Park: Mandarin, Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush (Conrad Ellam) *Foots Cray Meadows: 3 Little Egrets, 1 Grey Heron, Kingfisher and Kestrel (Patrick English) *Greenwich Peninsula: 1 '''unusual Black-headed Gull with blackish hood and almost black legs and bill (see photos), another Black-headed Gull with pinkish underside - assumed it was dirty so no photo, but possibly rare winter plumage variation as described in PJ Grant's book (Mike Paice) The pink is the oil, which keeps the plumage water resistant, rather than the feathers. ''Thanks, who are you? (Mike) - A diet of prawns in the Mediterranean can produce a pink tinge - just a thought (JR). *Leatherhead Town Centre: 2 Mandarin and 1 Kingfisher on river Mole, 2 Pied Wagtail, 2 Redwing (Neil Batten) *Kennington Lane SE11: Peregrine over at 1230 (Malcolm Hibberd) *London Wetland Centre: 1f Goldeneye still on reservoir lagoon, several Cetti's heard, also 2 Pintail, 2 Goldcrest, 6 Chiffchaff, flock of 50+ Siskin, Green & Great Spotted Woodpeckers, at least 12 Egyptian Geese and c.60 Wigeon (Martin Honey, B. Page and others) *Pinner (Marks & Spencer): Little Egret by the main entrance at 08:55 - the frenzied Xmas shoppers were oblivious to its presence (Jon Ridge). *Pinner Park Farm: Little Egret, 4 Snipe, 2 Teal, Meadow Pipit, 2 Grey Wagtail, 10 Pied Wagtail, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Stock Dove, 30 Fieldfare & 17 Redwing (Jon Ridge). *Surbiton: Portsmouth Rd Filter Beds area - 5 Gadwall, 27 Tufted Duck, 49 flying Cormorant (47 S, 2 E), 11 Lapwing, 2450 Black-headed Gull (1250 E, 800 N), 111 Woodpigeon, 137 Feral Pigeon, 16 Collared Dove, 7 Song Thrush, 40 Redwing (25 S), 97 Goldfinch (Andrew Skotnicki) *Walthamstow Reservoirs: m Goosander (Banbury), 2 f Pheasants (allotments), f Goldeneye (Lockwood), m '''Scaup' still (No 4), Barnacle Goose of unknown origin (playing fields adjacent to No4), Water Rail (Coppermill stream - Lol Bodini). *Wanstead Flats: 15 Linnet, Redpoll, 6 Pochard, 8 Shoveler, 12 Gadwall, 2 Teal, Little Grebe (Bob Vaughan) *Wanstead Park: Great Crested Grebe, 20 Shoveler, 18 Gadwall, Pochard, 5 Wigeon, 7 Egyptian Goose, Kingfisher, Siskin, Goldcrest (Bob Vaughan) Tuesday 1st December 2015 *Beddington Farmlands: Little Gull 1st winter main lake (BirdGuides) * Brent Reservoir: 15 Common Snipe, Water Rail, Green Sandpiper (Steve Blake). * Cornmill Gardens: Kingfisher, Little Egret, Mandarin, singing Song Thrush (Tom Moulton) * Ealing, Lammas Park scrape: grey wagtail (Polly Gilbertson) * East Dulwich SE22: 2 Blackcap (m), Red Admiral in garden (Steven Robinson) * East India Dock Basin: 19 Shelduck then 7 flew off downriver, 13 Tufted, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Redwing, 1 singing Cetti's Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 8 Goldcrests, 10 Chaffinches, 4 Greenfinches, 1 male Bullfinch dropped in to the North bank tees, 2 Reed Buntings (Nick Senior). * Fairlop Waters: Great Northern Diver (BirdGuides), 180 Lapwing (James Palmer) * Leatherhead: 3 Common Buzzard viewed distantly circling high over Ashtead Common area (Neil Batten). * Pinner Park Farm: 5 Little Egret (site record), 6 Snipe, 2 Teal (probable pair), 2 Shoveler (probable pair), 9 Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, 11 Redwing, male Kestrel, 24 Jackdaw, 3 Jay, 4 Stock Dove, 6 Chaffinch & 7 Grey Heron (Jon Ridge). * Richmond Park: red-head Goosander Upper Pen Pond briefly at mid-day (R.Herbert per JW) * St James's Park: Peregrine took a Pigeon mid-air at 14:32 (Frank Nugent). * Staines Moor: 19 Fieldfare, 2 Stonechat, 2 Little Grebe, Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Little Egret, Cetti's Warbler, Green Woodpecker (Keith Kerr). * Surbiton Filter Beds: 6 Little Grebe, 4 Gadwall, 12 Lapwing (Nigel Jackman) * Stanwell Moor: 7 Teal, Goldcrest, Buzzard, Kestrel, Cetti's Warbler, Pheasant (Keith Kerr). * Trent Park: Egyptian Goose - probably first-winter, grazing grass by lower lake - scarce at this site! (Robert Callf) * Valentines Park: Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail (James Palmer) * Wallington (TQ291632) - 7:30am to 8:15 1 f Pheasant walking around my garden then chased by next doors cat! Completely lost (Arjun Dutta) * Wanstead Flats: 31 Gadwall, 17 Shoveler, 4 Teal, 4 Pochard, 15+ Tufted Duck, 8 Egyptian Goose, Redpoll, 9 Linnet, 3 Meadow Pipit, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Great Black-backed Gull, Little Grebe, 3+ Goldcrest (Nick Croft/Bob Vaughan). * Wanstead Park: 40 Wigeon (new site record), 318 Gadwall, 60 Shoveler, 12 Teal, 2 Egyptian Goose, 2 Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, 2 Kingfisher, 5 Siskin, 5 Redpoll, 2 Fieldfare, 8+ Goldcrest, possible Firecrest by bridge over Roding (Nick Croft/Bob Vaughan), Kingfisher (James Palmer), Common Buzzard (Paul Ferris) * Woodford Bridge: Around 30 Common Gulls as part of a mixed flock on the cricket pitches next to Redbridge Lakes, plus Green Woodpecker in the cemetery and Grey Heron at the lakes (Alan Hobson). Archived News LONDON BIRDING NEWS FROM ALMOST EVERY PREVIOUS MONTH SINCE JULY 2002 {C}